Fitting Palazzo Blumenstihl in Rome for Lithuanian embassy can take several years

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has announced a public tender for design and project supervision services of the premises of the Lithuanian Embassy building in the Italian capital.

According to the ministry, forecasting the time of completion of the premises is rather difficult, as it depends on the strictly-regulated public procurement procedures, duration of which is even more difficult to project, as the volume of work will be established later.

“We expect to complete the embassy’s premises within a few years,” the Foreign Ministry’s Public Relations Department said.

Under the bilateral agreement signed last year, the Lithuanian Embassy has been given premises at Palazzo Blumenstihl in central Rome for free as compensation for the Lithuanian Embassy building Villa Lituania which has been used by Russian diplomats since the Soviet occupation.

Under the deal, Lithuania will have all nearly 700 square meters on the 4th floor of the palace designed by prominent Italian architect Luca Carimini in late 1800s. Estimated at almost 9 million euros, the facilities were provided to Lithuania free of charge for 99 years, with the possibility to extend the period in 2112.